For

Against

Time is important. Look around your house and you'll have lots of timepieces, whether it's the one on your wall, on your video recorder, wrist, phone, PDA… It's a pretty safe bet they are all telling different times, even if only within minutes.

In steps Oregon Scientific with its Easy Themo Projecting Clock. The key here is that the clock will receive via radio signals the correct time and update and tweak accordingly. There are two separate models on sale, the sole difference being the model number, the RM622P is set up to receive the DCF77 radio signal from the control clock on Frankfurt and model RM622PU is configured to receive the MSF60 signal from Rugby, England.
The advantage of these signals is that the clock, once turned on, will automatically keep time and date accurately updated throughout the year, with no tweaking from the user. If you live outside the range of these ‘super-clocks', or you wish to move the clock around as you travel, then you are offered the option to set the time yourself.

Included on the main panel display is also a thermometer that displays the current air temperature, in degrees Celsius, as well as storing maximum and minimum ranges that the clock has been exposed to since it was last reset.

The real sell though, is that the rotating side arm that swivels through 180degrees and projects the time onto a wall or ceiling, visible in a darkened room. If the clock is using its pair of AA batteries then the projector function is activated by depressing the snooze / backlight button on the top of the alarm clock. If, however, the clock is near a power point, it can be connected and the projector element can be set to be permanently on.

Cleverly, the arm also houses not only a focus wheel, but also another wheel to rotate the image so that it can be made to project the right way up no matter which way the clock is facing. The red-light projector throws a powerful and clear image a reasonable distance and with the adapter attached this is an ideal way to get a large display visible digital clock in any darkened room.

Verdict

Those who like to sleep in will find the snooze / backlight button a little small and in our mind it could be larger (all the easier to hit before dozing back off to sleep). The same can be said for the alarm off button, which is located on the end of the clock; not the most accessible of places. The only other disadvantage is that if you want to have the clock image projected onto the wall in front of you then you can't see the clock's smaller front LCD display, to see the temperature or set the alarm.

Overall, this is a practical, accurate and reliable clock as well as host of other, genuinely, useful features. Couple this with the low price, the flexibility of the projecting options and the mains adapter and this is the perfect solution for any room in the house. However since these models only measure in Celsius, you can't help feeling they'd sell even more to larger countries who display their temperatures in Fahrenheit.